FACTS AND TRIVIAS

A persistently absent child is one who misses school for at least 10% of the time.

Secondary school had a higher rate of persistent absence than primary schools. And overall,

unauthorized absence, whether persistent or not, also increased

Taking to the streets in cities across the country, the team asked children themselves why they

skipped classes. They gave a range of reasons including anxiety, depression, bullying and having

little interest in the subjects they are taught.

Students who live in communities with high levels of poverty are four times more likely to be

chronically absent than others often for reasons beyond their control, such as unstable housing,

unreliable and lack of access to health care.

Attendance improve when school engage students and parents in positive ways and when school

provide mentors for chronically absent students.

Most schools don’t look at all the right data to improve school attendance. They track how many

students show up everyday and how many are skipping school without an excuse, but not how many

are missing so many days in excused and unexcused absence that they are headed off track

academically.

WHY CHOSE THIS STUDY

Truancy is a serious problem, that’s why we chose this study to give others awareness and

understanding of truancy of the students. The purpose of this is to find a solution to eliminate or
reduce the students from being truant. Based on my research, the consequences of too many absences

are serious not only for students, but also for parents. It means that this research is to give awareness

and understanding for everyone especially the parents. We find this study helpful for everyone about

how to minimize and deal with truancy. Help everyone specially the parents and students build a

positive relationship, discuss it and implement options for credit recovery. It can also guide students

and prevent them from doing such things like trying drugs, alcohol, engaging criminal acts such as

vandalism and theft, and ultimately dropping out of school altogether. By doing this study, we can

make these things slowly improve to minimize truancy.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Truancy is an educational, social and law enforcement problem. Truancy among adolescents

jeopardizes chances of achieving their educational goals (Siziya, Muula & Rudatsikira, 2007).

Student’s non-attendance to classes is a problem that extends much further than the school. It affects

the students, the family and the society on very high levels. Globally, truancy has been identified as

the most powerful predictor of delinquency and indiscipline among youths. Absenteeism is

detrimental to students’ achievement, promotion, graduation, self-esteem and employment potential.

Clearly, students who miss school fall behind their peers in the classroom. Consequently, this leads

to low-esteem and increase poor academic performance that will cause student drop out of school. As

a matter of fact, truancy threatens students’ academic performance, progress; success can serve as an

indicator of dysfunction in many other areas of human endeavour. If the matter is left unaddressed,

truancy will contribute to a myriad of problems for young people during the school years and into

adulthood. Therefore, the main research problem of this study borders on finding the causes and

levels of truancy among secondary school students with Rivers State, Nigeria as a case study.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The students: This study will serve as an eye opener to the students in knowing the negative

effects / consequences of involving oneself the act of truancy

The teachers: This research work will serve as information to the teachers on existing forms of

trauncy by students as well as ways of controlling them.

Education Authorities: The teachers, the authorities will benefit immensely from this study as it will

help keep them informed on the recent techniques involved in trauncy causes and at the same time

open their eyes to the need to.

The society / parents: This study will in no small measure assist parents and the society at large in

knowing what their children and wards do in school and thus, see ways of assisting them to learn

and concentrate more on their studies and depend less on external studies help.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Conducting research into the effects of truancy is an important exercise for both academicians and

policy makers. The findings of the study will assist academicians, policy maker, administrators and

teachers to know the causes of student truancy and therefore be in a better place to create conducive

environment devoid of high level of student truancy. The finding will also assist teachers to indentify

the weaknesses of the existing strategies and also lead to the development of new strategies for

addressing truancy in school. Also, the study will enlighten parents on the need to train their wards at

home so that they can be good mannered and behave well at school, the community and the society
as a whole.It will result in the community producing acceptable members of the society who aren’t

threats to social stability and peace. That why the saying goes,’ charity begins at home’.